At least Judy Groteler still has her pets — four dogs, six birds and a cat, to be exact. The 69-year-old widow says she needs them more than ever after someone disguised as a caregiver allegedly stole thousands of dollars from her while she was recovering from a broken neck. Bob Blancato, national coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition, expects more stories like this as the elderly population grows amid a bad economy.

Peter Daining

At least Judy Groteler still has her pets — four dogs, six birds and a cat, to be exact.

The 69-year-old widow says she needs them more than ever after someone disguised as a caregiver allegedly stole thousands of dollars from her while she was recovering from a broken neck.

“If I didn’t have my dogs, my animals, I don’t think I could have kept going,” she said. “I don’t know how you can do that to somebody.”

Bob Blancato, national coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition, expects more stories like this as the elderly population grows amid a bad economy.

“It’s the perfect storm scenario,” he said. “It is on the rise, but it’s one of those areas where data is not as good as it should be.”

Already, more than 1 million adults ages 65 and older suffer from some form of elder abuse each year, according to the National Institute of Justice.

Dave Ziegler, adult services supervisor for the Department of Human Services in Holland, Mich., said awareness of elder abuse prevention is where child abuse prevention was 40 years ago.

“It’s a matter of the public becoming aware of the signs to look for,” he said. “A lot of the (elderly) population is isolated because of their age or disability. Many aren’t getting out in the public.”

A 2009 study by the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse estimates financial abuse costs the elderly up to $2.6 billion a year.

Groteler, for instance, says up to $23,000 was pilfered from her while she was stuck in bed.
Groteler met Donna VandeVusse at a quilting class, and they eventually became friends. Soon VandeVusse was teaching Judy and another friend, Jana Schaap, how to quilt at Judy’s home.

And when Groteler broke her neck in a car accident in October, 2008, it was VandeVusse who offered to move in and provide the care.

At that point, Groteler says, she thought VandeVusse was a saint. It wasn’t until well after VandeVusse and her husband moved out around seven months later that Groteler said she began to discover things weren’t as they seemed.

Although VandeVusse was paid by Groteler’s insurance company around $3,000 a week to provide around-the-clock care, Groteler alleges VandeVusse was also using her credit cards to gamble online. VandeVusse pleaded not guilty Jan. 28.

“Donna destroyed my financial well-being and turned my world upside-down,” Groteler wrote in a statement to police. “She was getting all that money — could you imagine she needed mine too?”

VandeVusse was charged with the fraudulent use of a credit card and using a computer to commit a crime through the Allegan County court system, and is currently out on a $5,000 bond, according to court records.

VandeVusse’s attorney, Bob Champion, said his client is disputing the charges.

“We’ve been able to show she spent a considerable amount of money on (Groteler),” he said.

Jana Schaap, a friend of Groteler, said VandeVusse was good at pulling the wool over her eyes.

“Everything was always very guarded,” Schaap said.

Groteler said friends encouraged her to tell the story.

Groteler was lucky to have friends who were suspicious and cared enough to come to her defense, she said.

“I feel sorry for people who don’t have anybody like that,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of support.”

The Holland Sentinel

Who are the perpetrators?

Family members who:

1. Have substance abuse, gambling or financial problems

2. Feel justified to take what is “almost” theirs

3. Fear their older family member will use up their savings

4. Have negative feelings about sharing an inheritance with other family members

Predatory individuals who:

1. Profess to love the older person

2. Seek employment as personal care attendants to gain access

3. Seek out vulnerable persons like recently widowed women

4. Move from place to place to avoid detection

Businesspeople who:

1. Overcharge for services

2. Use deceptive business practices

3. Use trust to gain compliance

— National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

Elder abuse warning signs

1. Unexplainable withdrawals from bank accounts

2. Bank statements no longer come to elder’s home

3. Have new “best friends”

4. Legal documents the older person doesn’t understand

5. Caregiver expresses excessive interest in older person’s spending

6. Belongings missing

7. Suspicious signatures on checks

8. Absence of documentation about financial arrangements

9. Elder person doesn’t understand financial arrangements

— National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

By the numbers

$2.6 billion: The amount taken through financial elder abuse each year (National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse)

5 million: Number of Americans who suffer some form of elder abuse each year (Senate Special Committee on Aging)

75: The average victim of elder abuse is a woman between 75 and 80. (Census Bureau)